


And Then There Were Three

by HerNameIsCaroline



Series: Memoirs of Middle-Earth [3]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-08 18:01:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15248853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerNameIsCaroline/pseuds/HerNameIsCaroline
Summary: I hope that this was a nice little one shot for everyone! So announcement: I plan on writing a sequel to Dwarves and Hobbits, which will follow the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films. Kiran may or may not grow to be a main character in said fic ;) so this is a nice little in-between piece! There may be more in between things that I write, just to flesh out Kiran's character a bit more, as well as her relationship with the others in the LotR. Stay tuned!





	And Then There Were Three

It was official. Kalin couldn't hide it any longer. She stood in the bathroom and rinsed her mouth, having just vomited.  _ Again _ . “He isn't dull,” she thought to herself. “He’ll catch on soon. Why are you so worried about telling him?”

She ran her hands over her face and fixed her braid that had come loose before marching out into the sitting room, where she knew Bilbo would be having his morning tea. She wondered what was more frightening, this or facing Smaug. 

“Bilbo, dear?”

“Yes, love?” He smiled up at her, but his brows furrowed when he saw her face. “Are you alright? You look quite pale.”

Kalin smiled and waved a dismissive hand. “Fine, fine, stomach is just a bit fussy today. I was wondering if we could go to the lake tonight, stargaze a bit.”

Bilbo grinned again and stood to hug her and press a kiss to her cheek. 

“That sounds lovely.”

Kalin was relieved. She would have the whole day to figure out what to say. 

But night fell quickly. Mahal, she couldn't do this. She never even thought this was  _ possible _ ! After all, she had never heard of a dwarf and a hobbit conceiving. Well, she had never heard of a dwarf and a hobbit being together  _ period _ . Surely they can't be the first, though? What is she going to tell him?  _ Guess what, Bilbo? We made a hybrid! _

They sat now on the lake, and Kalin gazed up at the clear sky above them. Bilbo, however, was frowning at her. She seemed to be trembling. 

“Kalin? Are you sure you aren't ill?”

He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. She was warm. She stared at him and his heart dropped when he saw tears glistening in her eyes. 

“Not… Not quite ill…”

“What's going on?!” He clasped her hands, thumbs stroking the backs of them, holding her gaze with his worried expression. She laughed as tears finally fell.

“Darling, I'm pregnant.”

Bilbo's face went slack, expressionless, while he desperately tried to process what she had said. 

“You… You're… but, how did…?

“You know fine well  _ how _ !” She said incredulously, laughter shaking her voice. 

“Well, yes, but… I didn't think we could…”

“Me neither…”

“Are… Are you sure?”

“I've been vomiting every morning for a month. And I haven't bled for two.”

Bilbo just stared at her. “How have I not  _ noticed _ ?”

“I worked very hard to hide it… Are you… happy?”

Bilbo let out a shaky laugh and wiped a tear from his eye. “Happy? I'm ecstatic! We're having a  _ baby _ !”

 

* * *

  
  


As the pregnancy progressed, Kalin went through many noticable changes. Of course she put on a bit of weight, though she still kept up with her weapons training, and she could no longer stand the aroma of the lavender tea she normally enjoyed every afternoon. On the flip side, pickled onions, which she normally hated, were now one of her biggest cravings. Bilbo had to keep at least three jars in the house at a time.

Things progressed smoothly, and the town doctor and midwife informed Kalin that she was about halfway through her pregnancy. She and Bilbo had been unsure of how long the pregnancy would last, because while dwarf pregnancies last quite a long while, hobbit pregnancies last less than a year. She had been pregnant for about six months now.

Kalin woke with a groan in the middle of an autumn night, her back pain keeping her from a restful sleep. Sleep had quickly become an issue when Kalin, someone who normally slept on her stomach, could no longer get comfortable at night. Bilbo still snored gently beside her, and she peeled back her covers gently to avoid waking him. She lifted the oversized shirt she wore to bed and gazed at the bump her usually muscular stomach had grown into. 

“I know you'll be worth it all, baby, but I sure am tired of this pregnancy business.” She sighed and laid a palm on her belly. “Are you nice and snug in there? I wonder how big you are now… not baby-sized yet, surely. Are you going to look like me or your father? Have you got little fingers and toes yet?” Kalin felt a little silly talking to her stomach like this. ”Do you even know who this voice belongs to?”

What happened next was indescribable. Like a hardy little poke from inside her gut, like a particularly massive butterfly was trapped inside her, Kalin felt the baby kick. She had been warned that this would happen, but it was unlike anything she could have expected. 

“Bil...Bilbo… Bilbo!”

She lightly slapped his shoulder until he sat up and rubbed his eyes. 

“What's wrong?” he croaked. “Are you alright?”

“The baby! They kicked!” She squeaked suddenly. “They just did it again! Oh, it's so  _ weird! _ Here--" she grabbed his wrist and held his hand to her stomach. 

Nothing happened. Bilbo gave her a sad smile, illuminated by the moonlight filtering in the window. 

“Maybe they don't quite like me yet.”

“No, no, try talking! That's what I did.”

“Talking? To… your stomach?”

“Well, to the baby  _ in  _ my stomach, but yeah! Go on, give it a go.”

“Um… well.. hello, baby? I--I'm very excited to meet you--" A kick. And a  _ big _ one. Bilbo sat up suddenly and pulled his hand back. “Oh--Oh  _ wow _ .” He put his hand back slowly, loving gaze resting on Kalin’s stomach. Her heart felt very full in that moment, as Bilbo kept babbling to her stomach and giving a delighted, nervous laugh each time the baby responded to his voice. She shut her eyes and smiled at the sensation, feeling very much like she was listening to a conversation between father and child, and eventually drifted off to a comfortable sleep.

 

* * *

  
  


Kalin was due in a matter of weeks. Months ago, she had sent letters announcing her pregnancy out to Erebor, and Dwalin and Bofur both insisted they be here when Kalin delivered the baby. She was happy, and honestly sort of relieved when she had gotten their replies. She and Bilbo were eager to see them again, and Bofur had quite a bit of experience with children, what with being an uncle to fourteen little ones back home.

The dwarves were due to arrive at any moment now, and Kalin could hear Bilbo flitting around the house, making sure everything was ready for their guests. When the bell to the door rang, Kalin struggled to her feet and waddled to the door as fast as she could. When she threw it open, Dwalin immediately scooped her into his arms and started weeping.

“My lil’ gem, about to be a mother!” He wailed.

“Uncle, please!” She laughed and hugged him back, beaming at Bofur over Dwalin’s shoulder. When she was finally released, and Dwalin had moved on to pull Bilbo into a bone-crushing hug, Bofur was finally able to hug Kalin close. He held her at arm’s length when they separated and examined her stomach.

“You’re having a girl.” He said matter of factly.

“What? There’s no way you can tell.”

“‘Course I can! Call it instinct.” 

They playfully argued for a little while longer, placing mock-bets on what the baby’s gender would be. The guests had stayed only for a few days when the big day finally arrived. 

Kalin had been tooling around the kitchen baking some honey cake, a recipe she had gotten from Beorn eight years ago after the battle for the Lonely Mountain. She suddenly lurched forward and dropped her measuring cup with a clatter onto the counter. The pain caused her to mutter a few unsavory words before she tried continuing on with her baking. But the pain returned, this time longer lasting.

“Bilbo?!” The hobbit came rushing into the room. “Go and fetch the midwife, I think it’s time!”

 

* * *

  
  


Everyone thought the baby was absolutely the most beautiful thing they had ever seen when she was born. She had pointed ears and a tuft of dark chestnut hair, and Bilbo couldn’t stop counting all her little fingers and toes every chance he got. It took Kalin a week to get back on her feet, which is when Bofur and Dwalin stepped up to help Bilbo take care of little Kiran, they named her. Bofur had been right about Kiran being a girl after all, and would brag about it any time he was near Kalin. She would have been more agitated with him, were it not for the fact that his singing put the baby straight to sleep whenever she grew fussy. 

Bilbo came to bed one night, when Kiran was just two weeks old, and Kalin was nursing her in bed. She smiled up at him when he joined them in the bed and pressed a kiss to the top of Kiran’s head.

“Our lives are forever changed now, Bilbo…”

“Yes… For the better, I think.”

They shared a kiss and Kiran began fussing, done with her meal. Kalin covered herself again, burped the little baby, and laid her into the bassinet that was alongside their bed now. They watched her blink up at them a few times before letting out a tremendous yawn and falling asleep. Both parents felt a little overwhelmed, and more than a little scared, but mostly proud and full of a love so fierce that they hardly believed it could be real. 

This little person was their whole lives now. She was the most important thing, someone they would both die to protect. They had such a responsibility now, to make sure she grew up a capable woman. It seemed a daunting task, but one that they would do their best to complete.

Bilbo wrapped his arms around Kalin as they laid in bed and nuzzled his face between her shoulder blades. He couldn’t believe how proud he was that she had brought this child into the world, and felt honored to be taking this journey with her. They fell asleep embracing, hearts full of passion and adoration for one another, confident that they had chosen the perfect partner to raise a child with. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that this was a nice little one shot for everyone! So announcement: I plan on writing a sequel to Dwarves and Hobbits, which will follow the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films. Kiran may or may not grow to be a main character in said fic ;) so this is a nice little in-between piece! There may be more in between things that I write, just to flesh out Kiran's character a bit more, as well as her relationship with the others in the LotR. Stay tuned!


End file.
